Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi

Abstract

Father and daughter Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi were unusual and gifted artists. Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639) was the most talented follower of Caravaggio and a figure of international renown, active at the courts of Marie de' Medici in France, Charles 1 in England, and in Rome, Genoa, and Turin. Artemisia (1593-1652/3) was the first Italian woman artist who was not only praised for her art by her contemporaries but whose paintings influenced the work of later generations. She is today a key figure in gender studies. Essays by an international group of art historians not only explore the development of each of these two painters individually but also compare their work, showing how both were influenced by their times and milieus. The book also includes new transcriptions of key parts of the notorious rape trial of Artemisia. This beautiful book is the catalogue for the first full-scale exhibition of the works of Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 14th February to 12th May 2002, travelling thereafter to the St Louis Art Museum and to Rome.